Improvement in rail-fence barbs



C. P'. HOUSUM.l Rail-Fence Barb.

No. 204,735. Patented June1L18`78.

[nz/@Wr 0M i #Maw w 6.6. 111mm/ Hen. wnsnx'nmcN. n c.

lt-PETERS. PHO

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIOE.

CHARLES P. HOUSM, OF DEOATUR, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAIL-FENCE BARBS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 204,735, (lated June- 11, 1878; application tiled May 16, 187B.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. HOUsUM, of Decatur, in the county of Macon and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Fence Barbs; and

that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents, in perspective, a part of a fence-rail having a number of the barbs inserted in it, and, partly in section, a tool or handle used to insert them. Fig. 2 represents, on a larger scale, two of the barbs.

My invention relates to means used to protect Wooden fences, or fences made of rails or boards, in the usual manner, from cattle and other animals.

My invention consists in railfence barbs made by machines from wire cut into lengths., with a beveled or round chisel-edge 7 at each lend, and bent in the middle of their length, to

form a rest for the driving or holding tool to bear upon while the barbs are to be driven into the fence-rail.

In the drawings, A represents a portion of a fence-rail into which a number of barbs, a and a', have been driven. These barbs are made of wire cut diagonally into lengths of about one and a half or two inches, in such a manner as to form a sharp beveled point, b, at each end. They are bent in the middle or adjacent to it, as shown at c c', to form a projection or shoulder, upon which the holding or driving tool D bears while it is struck Onthe head il with a hammer or mallet, the perforation d in the head being made, for that purpose, of nearly the same size as the Wire of the barb.

A rail fence thus protected is more efficient than a Wire fence, and by the use of my invention ordinary fences already in use may be easily and quickly converted into barbed felices.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim- 1. A rail-fence barb made of wire cut diagonally intol lengths having a beveled or chisel edge at each end, and bent in the middle Of its length, to form a rest or shoulder for a driving Or holding tool to bear upon While the barb is to be driven into a fence-rail, subs-t'antially as and for the purpose described.

2. In combination with a Wooden fence-rail, a barb made of Wire having a beveled edge at each end, and bent in the middle to form a shoulder, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

CHARLES P. HOUSUI/L Witnesses:

THEO. COLEMAN,

JOHN S. BDzBY. 

